Natural
by Sazanky
Summary: Zoro has been getting asked a certain question a lot recently but doesn't really want to divulge in the answer. ZoLu.
1. Natural

Very quick and short note: Spoilers for Thriller Bark, probably not for the usual reasons though.

This is M/M, ZoLu centric etc etc.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Is it natural?"

Zoro, not exactly a stranger with that particular question, chose to ignore it entirely. This only worked for about 3 seconds.

"Zoooroo!"

A different phrase, one he's grown very accustomed to, with his captain around… and bored, that particular word has been used about as often as meat. '_That's a scary thought.'_

"ZORO!"

"I can hear you, no need to yell."

"Is it natural?"

The boy was, of course, talking about the swordsman's hair color. Why Luffy's just started wondering this now is far beyond him. He didn't mind the extra attention, but hell if he was going to admit it.

"What do you mean, captain?"

Zoro smirked internally; let's see how long we can play this game, captain.

"Your hair!"

"Of course my hair is natural, everyone is born with hair, and this is certainly the hair I was born with." He smirked again, this one probably more external than anything else.

"COOOOOL, YOUR HAIR IS NATURALLY GREEN?"

"That's not what I said captain, I said I born with hair. I never said what color it was."

Luffy looked slightly off-put… and confused, "But you just said you were born with green hair."

"I said I was born with hair, not that I was born with green hair."

"But aren't babies bald?"

Zoro couldn't help but laugh at that last comment, it wasn't really that funny or anything, but he's thoroughly enjoying himself at this point, and he's not about to stop.

"What's so funny Zoro?"

"You, captain." This was true; Zoro couldn't help but enjoy the younger boys company, just being in Luffy's presence made him want to grin from ear to ear. Another thing he wasn't going to admit.

"Zoro's weird… okay bye Zoro! I'll go ask Sanji if he knows!"

Laughing again, the swordsman just watched as his captain bounded off to the kitchen to go bug the idiot cook. The cook didn't know of course, he wasn't particularly fond of male company as it was, let alone Zoro... Unless he'd caught an eyeful, which was highly doubtful, Sanji made an effort to not sleep anywhere near where Zoro was. This didn't bother the swordsman, Sanji and he tended to 'not see eye to eye' on many matters.

Luffy.

The name itself had many bearings on the older man. That's the name of the boy who occupies so many of Zoro's thoughts. He'd known for a while that he liked his captain, albeit in a friendly, crew/family sense. It had only recently started being a bit 'less innocent' as of late. Who could blame him though, once he really started thinking about it. The obvious innuendos with Luffy stuffing his face with meat, the overall cheerful nature of the Straw Hat's captain, it was pretty hard not to find him ridiculously attractive.

"Zooooroooooo~!"

"Yes, captain."

"Sanji said that he doesn't know, but he knows how I can find out."

He smirked, not realizing that this one wasn't internal, 'yeah I can think of a few ways too.'

"He said I should strip you! If any other hair I find is green, then it's all natural! Sanji is so smart!"

Zoro was glad that he was not drinking at the moment, for he if were, that would've definitely caused choking. He expects his captain to always be very straight-forward with honest and direct language. It's quite possibly the main reason he joined the crew in the first place, asides from the fact that Luffy was/still is way too cute for his own good.

"You're asking me to get naked for you Luffy?"

"Yeah! But if Zoro thinks that's uncomfortable, then Luffy will get naked too!"

Zoro just about died at that comment. 'It's almost like Luffy's begging for…' His mind wandered to the dark corner, the one where he imagines midnight watches taking a turn, where his captain takes over the watch, but instead gets a lot more than he bargained for-

"Zoro, is that okay with you? Zorooo~"

He spaced. He just fucking spaced when his captain offered to get naked. For him. Zoro.

"Are you okay Zoro? Your cheeks are turning pink."

_Shit. Shit shit SHIT SHIT._ "Luffy, why do you care so much about my hair color?"

"Because it'd be so cute if it was natural!"

Cute. Cute? Did he just hear that correctly? Luffy just said cute. Does Luffy know what he's even saying? Cute.

"Errr, I meant cool! It'd be _cool _if your hair was natural!"

"You think my hair is cute, captain?"

Luffy felt a small heat rise up to his cheeks. _'Yes! YES a thousand times yes! All of you!_' That's what he really wanted to say. REALLY REALLY wanted to say. Zoro was really cute after all. And handsome, don't forget handsome.

"Oi, captain, you alive in there?"

It was the younger man's turn to space for a moment.

"Yeah, I am Zoro! Why would you think I'm dead? I'm standing up and talking to you!"

"Luffy… That's not what I meant."

Luffy got confused at that statement. 'Well what else could he mean by alive?"

"Zoro! Luffy! Dinner's now or you don't get anything!"

"I hope it's meat! I love your meat, Sanji!"

Zoro had no choice but to facepalm there. 'This kid really doesn't make it easy for me.'

* * *

**AT DINNER**

"So Zoro's going to show me if he's naturally green-haired! He's shy about it so we're going to get naked together first!"

The entire table turned to Luffy. 'It's as if he doesn't understand at all' was the collective thought. Well except for Zoro, he started shovelling the food down his throat so he could get out of here, pretending that this wasn't happening all the while.

Robin spoke up "You know that's considered a very adult activity, and you only ever want to do that with someone you really like, right Luffy?"

"Oh. Well I really like Zoro, so does that count?"

Zoro, not quite so fortunate this time, definitely had food in his mouth and started choking. But, of course, he wasn't going to let the rest of the table know that, so as quietly and discreetly as possible, he started patting himself on the back, desperately trying to get that stubborn leg out of his throat.

"I think you misunderstood captain, what Robin was saying is that you've got to like them more than anybody else. You've got to open up your heart to them, just like I did when we first became crew… But I'm a skeleton and don't have a heart to open up in the first place, YOHOHOHOHO!"

"Brook's right on one point, this is someone you want by your side for your whole life, as a companion."

"Well I don't want Zoro to ever leave my side, is that what you mean?"

Zoro was having difficulties, as one could expect. '_I can defeat any opponent I come across, and I'm losing to a fucking chicken leg, humiliating that a swordsman should meet his end to his food, not his foe_.' His mind started racing, wondering who he could bother that wouldn't panic, wouldn't bring attention to it and wouldn't have to leave their seat.

Robin.

Zoro tried getting her attention by kicking her legs, and after a moment she looked right at him. She calmly smiled and with an understanding nod, sprouted arms around his stomach, winking and mouthing 'your secret's safe with me.' It didn't take long before he had coughed up the lodged food. He was bent over, gasping for air, desperately hoping no one heard that.

"Oh ho ho ho, Zoro's food is unguarded! Mine!"

Zoro froze with panic, he couldn't blow his cover now! '_Sorry Luffy, but that chicken leg is covered in my saliva, I was busy choking on it after you mentioned liking me, don't mind me over here_.' He was always calm and careful about his food, so there would be questions no matter what he said. So he kept it silent, apologizing to Luffy in his head. He finally looked up to see the entire table staring at him.

"What?"

"Lu-Luffy just stole your food. I've never seen him manage that before. Are you okay Zoro? Are you feeling sick? Do you need a doctor?"

"No, Chopper, I'm fine, I was just…. Tired… Tired of the shitty cook's food."

'_Flawless cover up_.' He was pretty pleased with himself, he got out of the awkward situation and he got to piss off Sanji in one sentence!

"What was that? You've got a problem?"

It really didn't take much to get Sanji roused. It also didn't take much for Sanji to kick Zoro out of the dining room, cursing and calling Zoro 'ungrateful'. He did actually like the food, but this was a perfect way to get out: maybe meditate, have a cold shower. Shower's definitely better.

* * *

**SHOWER**

Zoro, walked into the room, making sure to close the door behind him before he fully stripped. He was looking in the mirror, 'Well does this answer your question Luffy?'

'Here it is, Luffy, now that you've got your answer, wanna have some fun?'

'I hear a good diet has a lot of greens in it, mind if I help?"

None of these seemed particularly appropriate to say to his captain, who may or may not even know the core concepts of adulthood. But damn would they ever be fun to say, just to see his reaction. He had started the water, it was cool to the touch, which is exactly what he wanted, so without another moment wasted, the swordsman climbed into the shower.

"Zoooooroooo~"

'...Really. Not two moments after I get in the goddamn shower and he's already here. You really have impeccable timing Luffy.'

"Zoro, are you in there?"

"Go away Luffy, I'm busy."

"ARE YOU NAKED?"

"Don't come in here Luffy."

Not that it'd make a difference, but at least he'd try.

"Captain's orders Zoro, let me in!"

_'Shit._' He kept thinking that. He's stuck, naked and definitely at 'half-mast' and his captain, the object of his affection, was practically banging down the door.

"ZORO, NOW! I'M ALREADY NAKED, COLD AND WAITING FOR YOU TO OPEN UP THE DOOR."

Zoro winced. The entire ship probably heard that, knowing Luffy's vocal capacity. The thought his captain waiting for him wasn't helping his situation, he was practically at a 'full salute' at this point.

"Luffy, I'm not opening that door. I've got something that needs attending first."

"OOOOH, DOES ZORO NEED HELP WITH THAT? WHAT NEEDS ATTENTION?"

_'Tch. He really doesn't hear himself talk does he? Not that it'd make a difference, but still, come on captain.'_ Zoro just wanted to scream 'YES, I've got something that needs plenty of attention, and you're just the guy that it wants attention from!'

"This is better as a _solo_ mission Luffy, please go away."

"Don't care! I'm coming in!"

'Oh shit.' Zoro just decided that it'd be best to open the door, lest he incur the wrath of a certain navigator. He did NOT need to add any more to his debt. He sighed, threw on a towel and opened up the door.

The sight he saw was not what he was hoping for; he was hoping that Luffy had just been kidding, that he was fully dressed and just wanted to take a peek. But no, Luffy wasn't lying. He was naked, shivering and had his arm outstretched, ready to break down the door.

"You were pretty serious about thi-"

"SAAAAAAAANJI, HOW CAN I TELL? HE'S ENTIRELY HAIRLESS!"

_'Phrasing Luffy, for the love of God, phrasing._' Zoro almost swore he could hear that idiot cook laughing. He didn't need the unwanted attention. He didn't want constant berating from the rest of the crew. He could hear it now 'Zoro shaves _everywhere?_' It wasn't true of course, but those are some pretty intimate details. He could only pray that Luffy doesn't go after his towel.

"OH WAIT A SEC, I THINK THERE'S ONE MORE PLACE I CAN CHECK! ZORO, GET RID OF THAT TOWEL!"

"Could you just STOP YELLING? Do you WANT the rest of the crew to know the ENTIRE conversation we're having?"

"Well the rest of the crew is curious now. You've been avoiding the question. I've asked everyone if they knew, but they all gave me the same response."

"…What kind of response?"

Luffy grinned, "That I should figure it out for myself! So that's what I'm going to do Zoro. That towel's coming off."

The captain was smiling, closing the door behind him. Zoro's eyes widened, he started to grab for his towel to keep it secured to his hip.

Too late. The captain had already reached out for the neatly tucked corner of the towel, pulling it away. It only took a moment for the only protective layer between Zoro's body and Luffy's innocent eyes to fully come off.

"OIIIIIIII, ZORO'S HAIR IS MMMMPPFFF-"

Without even thinking, the swordsman had dived for Luffy, pushing him up against the door. 'Wait why did he stop talki-' Zoro's thoughts were interrupted as he noticed that his question was answered. He was kissing Luffy. That wasn't his intention, there was supposed to be a hand covering that mouth. The younger boy wasn't struggling at all though, but had a look of complete shock in his eyes. It had taken a couple moments for both of them to figure out what was going on.

Luffy had made the first move, pushing the older man off of himself.

"Zoro, what was that?"

'He doesn't know what a kiss is? Please tell me that's not what you're asking Luffy, I've got enough to explain already.' He decided to try and shrug it off as something else.

"I was shutting you up with my mouth." _Smooth. _

"Seemed like a kiss to me."

_Damnit Luffy, you just HAD to know what it was after all didn't you?_ "N-no, that's not what it was, I just don't need you screaming out everything about me so I had to shut you up somehow." _Super smooth._

Luffy smiled and while winking yelled "OOOOI, ZORO'S HAI-"

Zoro was a lot faster this time, catching the captain mid-sentence with his lips, although a lot shorter this time, as he pulled away as soon as Luffy stopped making noise. Winking again, he took a deep breath as though he were about to try again but the swordsman couldn't contain it anymore, he went in for another shot at the incredibly soft lips in front of him. This time he grabbed his captain's hands, pushing them against the door. He would've stayed like this but the younger of the two pulled away.

"You sure that wasn't a kiss? You've had no hesitation doing it three times in a row."

He grinned, but it was a lot different than the usual 'Luffy' smile, it was, smaller and closer to a smirk. "I can keep doing this you know."

Zoro wasn't about to trust himself to speak, he instead let go of the boy's hands then grabbed his waist and pulled him away from the door. With one hand supporting Luffy's head, he closed the distance between the two once again. Wanting to get his facts straight though, he pulled away once again, much to his captain's dismay.

"Luffy, I want to be clear. I like you."

"I like you too!" Luffy was grinning like his usual self again.

"I mean I really care about you."

"Aaaand I really care about you too!" The first mate was getting slightly flustered at this point. '_It's almost like the bastard is mimicking me.'_

"Are you going to copy everything I say?"

"Depends, is the next thing you're going to say 'I love you?'"

_'I love you I love you I love you'_ was all Zoro could think. He was not one for affection, let alone admitting to it, but damn his captain is sly sometimes. He paused for a moment, knowing that he wasn't good with his words, showed his answer by once again bringing his captain into a close embrace and kissed the younger man who in turn smiled, replying to the wordless confession, "I love you too."

* * *

**AFTER THE SHOWER**

"You won't tell the crew will you?"

"About what? You kissing me? About us? I wanted to cuddle though~"

Zoro should've expected that, he didn't exactly specify. "I don't care about them knowing about this, that's up to you. I meant my hair."

His captain gave his signature smile "If I don't tell them, they'll keep asking!"

There was no point in arguing anymore, Luffy had made up his mind and there was no way Zoro was going to change it. He just hoped that moss-rug wasn't going to be added to his already too long list of nicknames.

* * *

I don't know if I'm going to continue this or leave it as a one-shot... If it does get continued whether or not I'd go into the shower scene more or just keep it fluffy. Thanks for reading in any case!


	2. Cuddle

Quick disclaimer, I finished typing this up on my phone so if there's mistakes I'm very sorry. Anyways, enjoy chapter 2!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

It's been a few days. The entire ship knows about PRECISELY what he didn't want them to, with a plethora of new nicknames added to the list. There'd been jokes about the grass being greener, if he 'mows the lawn' and other various, stupid jokes like that. That didn't bother him that much, what did bother him was the amount of attention he was getting from everyone that wasn't named Luffy. Ever since the loud mouth had started spewing out that they were 'very in love' it'd become apparent that the rest of the crew had taken an interest in knowing every painstaking detail, which Luffy had been more than happy to share.

It got annoying very quickly. 'Zoro, have you and Luffy... you know...' followed by crude gestures with fingers. He quickly snap back 'NO' which probably didn't help and he was definitely NOT blushing. They were constantly snickering and winking at him whenever he was near, even his death glare wasn't working as well as it used to. But at least he had Luffy to himself, no one dared to interrupt the two whenever they cuddled, whether it was because of Luffy's 'death stare imitation' or his own, it didn't really matter. Most likely it was because of what happened after their first cuddle.

The first cuddle they had was awkward.

* * *

"Zoro, I wanna cuddle!"

It wasn't exactly unexpected, he'd been carrying the boy from the bathroom to the men's cabin after all. Mostly because his captain was refusing to do anything that didn't involve bodily contact... Not that Zoro had minded of course, the intimacy that his captain was showing was rather welcome after suppressing his own actions for what seemed like ages. It was pretty much an instantaneous reaction to being put down on the cot, which amused the swordsman _'he's acting like a needy child...' _His thought was interrupted by the ever growing irritation of the younger man.

"Noo, don't leave!"

"As you wish, captain." The cot was pretty small and definitely not designed for two bodies, but happy to oblige, he sat down beside, gently touching the younger's hair. It had only been a short while before the captain wanted more, pulling the swordsman down on top of him, smiling and laughing the whole time. It wasn't quite as amusing for Zoro however, as he was now literally tied up with the other's limbs, something he'd have to get used to. It wasn't uncomfortable so much as it was weird, he hadn't been intimate with many people but someone who could stretch themselves was probably amongst the weirdest people that one COULD get intimate with.

"Zoro, are you comfortable?"

Comfortable wasn't a good word. Far from it in fact, he was semi holding his weight up so he wouldn't squish the smaller of the two, not taking into account the rubber nature of his new-found partner.

"It'd be better if we tried this somewhere where there's more room. This cot is only made for one person, I don't think anyone took relationships into account when they got these beds."

The captain just nodded and let go of Zoro, and then held up his arms, gesturing that the swordsman should pick him up again. The latter of the two just sighed, picking up the very light rubber man. Checking around the area, he spotted two cots close together and gestured towards them, to which the captain feverishly nodded his head.

Setting Luffy down, despite the protests, Zoro moved the cots until they were side by side. Satisfied with his work, he picked up his lover and gently lowered them both onto the makeshift queen sized bed. No sooner had he layed his head down that Luffy had already started wrapping his overly long arms around the swordsman. A few times around in fact. Zoro wasn't about to admit the levels of discomfort, but he thought that if he shifted himself around enough to get the younger man lying down on his side, he could make it work.

It definitely didn't, instead the limbs kept stretching, getting Zoro more and more tied up in the tangle of arms and what felt like legs.

'Great' he thought to himself. Now he was entirely trapped in the web of Luffy's limbs, trying to wriggle his way out which only made the younger of the two cock his head, casually asking what was wrong. This kept going for about ten minutes. Ten agonizing minutes of strangulation, cut off body circulation and above all, horrid, horrid discomfort.

Then Usopp walked in. Noticing the two, he called out 'hey guys, hope I'm not interrupting anything.' Putting a lot of emphasis on the anything part. All of a sudden, Zoro noticed that the limbs were retreating at an alarming rate, they were going almost too fast for him to keep track of. He had barely dodged one foot flying for his head, and just a few moments later, dodging it again. Only then did Zoro realize what was going on, and following his traditional 'gomu gomu no-'

"Usopp! Look out!"

*THWACK*

"USOPP! DO NOT INTERRUPT OUR CUDDLE TIME AGAIN OR YOU WILL NEVER WALK THE SAME AGAIN."

Those words echoed across the ship for some time, no one dared to move, except Usopp, who slowly made his way out of the room.

It was quickly decided amongst the rest of the Straw Hats that cuddle time was not to be disturbed.

Ever.

* * *

Shorter chapter this time friends, hope you enjoyed it!


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